Thursday, October 5, 2017

A Cozy is What???

By Janis Susan May/Janis Patterson

What’s a cozy mystery? Well, it depends on when – and who – you’re asking.

A cozy mystery used to mean a mystery without overt, on-screen violence, sex or gore. Since murder (which the vast majority of mysteries are) is inherently violent, a cozy had to soft-pedal the explicitness so prevalent in the noir or hard-boiled ‘traditional’ mystery. Instead of a lengthy and loving description of the knife point parting the yielding flesh or the fountain of spatter as the bullet tears through the body, there is just a scant mention of a lip of blood seeping out from under a covering sheet or the sight of a crushed and mangled body – nothing more. Sex (if any) is treated the same way – a glance, occasionally a quick kiss, but the focus is nearly always just about the puzzle and nothing else. Oh, one of the main hallmarks of the true cozy is that the sleuth who always triumphs in the end is without exception an amateur.

That’s pretty much still true for many today, but in the last few years there has been a revolution within the cozy genre itself. If possible, it has gotten ‘cozier’ if not downright cloying.

Not long ago I was talking with an industry professional and he mentioned that I should try my hand at writing a cozy mystery. Since he was familiar with my work I was startled, as my mysteries have always been considered cozy – amateur sleuth, no overt anything, focus on the puzzle. Not any more, he said. You are now writing a traditional mystery; now a cozy is much fluffier – an amateur female sleuth, who usually owns a bakery/café/needlework shop/bookstore or works in some other traditionally feminine field of endeavor, who occasionally has an incredibly intelligent pet (some of whom talk and even detect by themselves), who has both a steadfast but quirky family/best friend and who always has a hunky policeman or detective friend about whom she inwardly obsesses standing around waiting to help her. Oh, and if food is involved, there must be recipe(s) at the end. Today, the industry professional added, it’s becoming almost de rigeur for the heroine/sleuth to be young, gorgeous, witty and usually adorably clumsy, especially around the hero – and sometimes so stupid it makes my teeth ache. Most recently it seems she has to have some sort of superpower, too. Psychic abilities. Be a witch. Or, if she is ‘normal’, have a ghostly companion whom only she can see.

That, he said, is today’s cozy mystery.

My response was nothing I want put out on the internet.

Now don’t get me wrong – I read stories with varying degrees of the above elements. Some I have enjoyed, some not – just like with any genre. What alarms me is that there is such a tsunami of them. I’m waiting with fatalistic patience for a story about a psychic witch who can fly (with or without broom), can shapeshift or turn herself invisible (maybe both), and has a ghostly companion who runs her bakery/café when she’s zipping around searching for clues with a saturnine detective who doesn’t believe in paranormal phenomena. It’s inevitable.


I guess I’m old-fashioned, but I don’t see what’s wrong with a perfectly normal human sleuth who follows the clues and solves the puzzle with nothing but her (or his) brainpower, tenacity and curiosity. However, everyone has different tastes, and that’s fine.

18 comments:

  1. I'm not thrilled with lots of gore in mysteries and don't write what I wouldn't want to read myself. I do like mysteries with some grit and guts though, not mere fluff. But there's room in the genre for an infinite variety of style and type. I don't think we should have to write to any preconceived formula.

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  2. Just what I suspected! Cozies are getting more alike and fluffier like the cats that are usually a part of them. I think I'll write a traditional mystery.

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  3. Love your post, Susan. I think this is an example of Marketing again dictating what is written. The "cozy" you described has been selling well, so let's write more...and more...and more of the same (or almost the same). And, sadly, sometime in the future readers will tire of these and will move on to other types of mysteries and we'll wonder what happened to the traditional cozy.

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  4. I write what I want to read. I've noticed that many of the books I pick up, expecting an actual puzzle mystery, are more like "day in the life" journals of some ditzy baker/knitter/bookstore owner with an aggressive cat/dog/hamster. They chronicle where this person drives, who she calls, when she takes a shower, when she wakes up--every minute of the day. It's more of a love letter to a cousin who has always admired you. Oh, and there must be at least two guys vying for her affection. Often there is a psychic/witch/paranormal power of some sort at play. The murder and solving the murder is quite a side issue. I wish they'd make up a new name for these. Cozy reads. Cozy follow-alongs. Whatever. . . .

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  5. I've found that I don't even bother with most cozies any more. The last cozy I started had the protag grab a tablecloth to cover the corpse so finding it wouldn't spoil the wedding reception she organized. What?!? I never got beyond that. It was such a stupid thing for anyone to do. I know it was meant to be humorous but really..? I find myself re-reading classic cozies from years ago.

    Catherine

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  6. This is so interesting! By your definition, my new release is a cozy, but not by the more recent definition. I guess I am glad that I am not pitching it as a cozy--there would definitely be some upset readers out there.

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  7. Many cozies don't follow this formula. My publisher has a number of cozies by various authors and only one or two of the series involve a store of any kind. A couple of books have pets and I don't think we have any paranormal series. My current cozy series has a male amateur sleuth who lives in a big city. The big New York publishers use this formula for their mass market PBs, but it's unfair to brand all cozies as "fluffy." And besides, some readers prefer a lighthearted read to a more intense drama. The mystery world has something for everyone.

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  8. You forgot to mention they all have those cartoony covers with warm scenes of kitchens or food or cats and a woman in an apron. I think that's one of the reasons sales of cozies have dropped (and why one of the main publishers of the genre dropped a ton of authors early this year).

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  9. Susan, I can relate. I guess that's why I think of my books as traditional rather than cozy mysteries.

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  10. Gosh, I obviously don't write cozies then.

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  11. I guess I write traditional mysteries. New type cozies sound "squishy." I admit my "To Die For" protagonist had an inherited cat in first novel--a cranky Siamese--but FatCat faded away in later novels. (After all she was a senior cat in book one.)

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  12. Interesting post! I hadn't realized there was a new definition, but I have picked up some books like the ones you describe and like you, I haven't found them intriguing enough to read.

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  13. Susan, I'm so with you! More and more, when I pick up a cozy, it's way too fluffy (the very word I've often used) and I much prefer the traditionals. Agatha Christie is still a good starting place ;-)

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  14. I happen to enjoy lighthearted, humorous mysteries that do center around one of these quirky shops/bed-and-breakfasts/bookstores/craft corners. It's a relief from the news and serves our need to see justice served. A traditional mystery may share some of the same elements but is often more serious in tone. Both can included social issues.

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  15. You forgot about the recently deceased fluffy familiar (world's only long-haired toad) who advises and comforts the heroine.

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  16. Labels are sometimes difficult to escape, even when inaccurate. My Animals in Focus mysteries are, in my mind, traditional - smart, 50-something single-by-choice professional photographer/amateur sleuth who is active in various dog & cat sports (yes, cat sports). The animals do not talk, do not solve mysteries - they behave like real animals. But the publisher labeled them "cozy" and even tried to put a cartoon cover on the first one. Funnily enough, B&N had 3 of them in the traditional mysteries, another in cozies. (That's been fixed.) Anyway, mysteries can include humor and animals without being silly/cloying, and they can be suspenseful and, frankly, terrifying without lengthy passages detailing the horrific. I read all sorts of mysteries, and in the end it comes down to the writing, regardless of setting and tone and label.

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  17. I enjoy cozies, but am wondering if any other occupations can be discovered besides owning some sort of bakery, bed and breakfast, bookstore, or other overused occupation. I'm not into the ghost and spirit scene either.

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  18. How interesting, Janis. I've actually been wanting to try my hand at mysteries, since I like to read them. This is useful information, indeed! Thank your friend for this, please!

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